M. Veerappa Moily – A Man on a Mission

Marpadi Veerappa Moily has an ongoing political career that began fruitfully with the post of Chief Minister of Karnataka. After S. Bangarappa stepped down as Chief Minister, M. Veerappa Moily was elected to the post of Chief Minister. His term as Chief Minister lasted from 19th November 1992 to 11th December 1994. He was succeeded in the Chief Minister’s chair by H. D. Deve Gowda.

The Offices

M. Veerappa Moily was a leader in every sense of the term. Besides being a Chief Minister, Moily has many other laurels and labels that he is associated with. He belonged to an ordinary family from a village called Marpadi in Coastal Karnataka. Born on the 12th of January 1940, Moily rose far above his humble beginnings holding on to the ladder that his zeal to help created.

Moily’s educational background is a varied checkerboard of village, town and city education. After completing his schooling from Moodabidri, Moily received a bachelor’s degree from Mysore University and a law degree from Bangalore University.

Moily’s long and eventful career began with a job at the Fisheries department followed by a job at LIC. His legal practice began with his independent practice in the temple town of Karkala in 1969.

Through his legal practice he sought to help landless farmers gain an understanding about their rights. In his quest to help he set up an association called the Kisan Sabha through which he defended the rights of farmers in court and educated farmers about the Land Reforms Act.

Through his extensive work and compassion for the cause of the farmers, Moily won the hearts of the locals. The effort he put in at the association paved the way to a long political career.

His first foray into a career in politics was through his election to the Legislative Assembly at Karnataka in 1972 from the Karkala Constituency. He was well-loved in this constituency as he was elected for 6 terms consecutively from Karkala. Through the six terms, Moily was given various portfolios. The portfolios that he was entrusted with are

Minister of Industry

Minister of Finance

Minister of Education

Minister of information

Minister of Law and Parliamentary affairs

Minister of Tourism for the state of Karnataka.

Moily’s majority in the Mysore Legislative Assembly elections of 1972 paved the way for his path to the office of Chief Minister of Karnataka. From his win in the legislative assembly he was given the portfolio of minister of small scale industries from 1974 to 1977.

Moily’s majority in the elections of 1983 led to his post as leader of opposition, as Congress-I did not win a majority in the state. The elections of 1989 saw Congress make an unexpected comeback. He received the post of Minister of Law and Parliamentary affairs, youth services, information, tourism, commerce and industries between 1989 and 1990.

When Bangarappa resigned in 1992, Veerappa Moily was the natural choice to lead the State.

After his tenure as Chief Minister, he was given various posts such as

Chairman of Tax Reforms Commission

Chairman of Revenue Reforms Commission

Cabinet Minister of Corporate Affairs

Minister of Power

Minister of Law and Justice

He worked tirelessly for the education of the backward classes through his work as the Chairman of the Oversight Committee. The implementation of the various reservations made for the backward classes were overlooked by Moily as the Chairman.

M. Veerappa Moily is currently the Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas. Moily’s list of achievements from all the numerous portfolios that he has held shows his compassion for the poor and his vision for an educated, informed country that receives and maintains international acclaim.

The Politician and the Author of Change

M. Veerappa Moily has numerous monikers and tags. The one tag that perhaps best defines Moily is the tag of being an author. Veerappa Moily has a literary inclination that makes him put pen to paper time and again. He has authored several novels, plays, poems and publications the (publications pertain to the current affairs of the Country in several leading newspapers and magazines).

Dr. Veerappa Moily has a personality that cannot be contained in a few words. His passion and commitment towards the welfare of his fellow countrymen shines through his years as a politician and as an author.